Economic Troubles Hamper South Africa’s Efforts to Tackle Climate Change

Economic Troubles Hamper South Africa’s Efforts to Tackle Climate Change
Cooling towers at Eskom's coal-powered Lethabo power station, Sasolburg, South Africa, Nov. 21, 2011 (AP photo by Denis Farrell).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on countries’ risk exposure, contribution and response to climate change.

South African Airways made history in mid-July, when it conducted Africa’s first biofuel-powered commercial flights, between Johannesburg and Cape Town. In an email interview, Robert Looney, distinguished professor in the department of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, discusses South Africa’s exposure and response to climate change.

WPR: What is South Africa’s risk exposure to climate change, what effects of climate change are already apparent, and what sorts of adaptation approaches will it have to adopt or develop?

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